The expression on Cage's face was a mixture of anger and amusement. He looked like he was either going to laugh or yell at me. The box of tissues had hit Cage's chest and fallen to the ground with a flump.

I, on the other hand, was about to cry. And it wasn't going to be a little soft sobbing, it was going to be hysterical crying with a lot of tears and runny noses. Perhaps that box of tissues I threw at Cage would be useful to have.

Sending Cage my coldest glare, (and I mean ice cold, like a glare created in Antarctica or something) I stalked away. He pressed his lips together and let me go by. Shoving past Micheal, I left them to continue on about Romeo and went downstairs to the living room. I had enough of Cage Vickers for one night. He was so ridiculously beautiful and infuriating.

Since I already scoured for a phone when we first arrived, I didn't bother. I'd have to make another plea to Cage later about talking to Fern. It was two and a half days since they hijacked my car, nearing three. I was desperate to go back home. As fun as this unplanned vacation was, I had priorities and they didn't include a certain green-eyed man with a smile that could charm nearly every straight girl in the world- ugh, never mind.

Flopping down on the leather couch, I stared at the television screen that hung over the fireplace. Micheal was watching TV when I first came in and forgot to turn it off. A soccer game flashed back and forth on the screen. Picking up the remote, I flicked through several channels, including a news network which I deliberately skipped over.

Finally, I settled on an episode of WWE Smackdown. Fern never understood my obsession with professional wrestling just like I didn't understand her infatuation with donuts. I mean, donuts were cool. They just weren't as cool when they take up the entire bottom shelf of your refrigerator for one month straight.

I could hear them arguing upstairs. Cage's voice was muffled through the thick ceiling so I couldn't quite make out the words, but I was pretty willing to bet it was either about Romeo and me. I didn't understand why Cage had so much trouble letting me go. I suppose, from his point of view, any witness that witnessed what they do and what they look like firsthand was a big no no in the criminal industry. But I did promise not to tell and I planned on keeping that promise. I'd just have to convince Cage of that somehow.

"Movie night!" Micheal suddenly shouted from behind, making me jump in surprise. He entered the living room, holding out a Finding Nemo DVD case in his hands.

"Movie night?" I repeated as Micheal put the DVD into the player. He walked around the room, gathering all the pillows from the other couches and a couple of blankets. Micheal then proceeded to dump all of those objects over me. "What kind of criminals has a designated move night? You're the most uncriminal criminal I've ever had the joy of accidentally meeting, Micheal."

"Movies are for everyone." Just as I managed to poke my head through the pile of pillows and blankets, Micheal threw some more at me. "Just because we kill people doesn't mean we don't watch movies. Also, Cage asked me to cheer you up."

"I thought he wanted me to stay away from you. Anyways, I don't need cheering up!" I snapped at the mention of his name. "I am bursting with cheer. I couldn't be more cheerful. I'm the most goddamn cheerful person in this house! If I had even one more ounce of cheer, I'd die from overcheering."

Micheal's response was giving me a look that clearly stated he thought I was a weirdo. As I tried to pull myself out of the pile of fluffiness, Micheal disappeared into the kitchen and one minute later, reappeared carrying a bowl of popcorn, a pack of soda, and a whole bunch of candy. I wasn't surprised. The kitchen was packed with junk food.

Again, Micheal thought it was funny to throw stuff at me. A packet of Jolly Ranchers hit me square in the face.

When I finally settled down under a quilt with cupcakes all over it, (Yes, cupcakes. One of the most dangerous and notorious criminal mafias in the world included a person who took the time out to head to Wal-Mart and pick out a quilt with cupcake cartoons all over it.) it was very suddenly interrupted by a flying man who practically cartwheeled himself onto the couch where I was very comfily sitting up until now.

"What movie are we watching?" Nick asked, laughing to himself about the soft parkour he just did. Heath appeared as well, taking a seat at the table with his laptop. Much to my displeasure, Cage also came downstairs. He avoided my eyes and sat on the opposite end of the couch.

"Finding Nemo." Micheal answered. He was sitting on the ground, wrapped in a blanket next to my feet. I was so weirded out by this entire experience that I couldn't bring myself to speak. Watching Finding Nemo with the Crows was ridiculous, for many reasons. One of them being that they were criminals. They were grown men with the mentality of a teenage girl. You know, other than the whole murder and drugs and crimes kinda thing.

The movie began. I couldn't focus on it, no matter how hard I tried, because of Cage. He was doing nothing but sitting there, sucking a green Jolly Rancher, and it distracted me so much. I was fully aware of his presence even though I attempted to concentrate on the screen. Every movement of his made me twitch with anxiety. Why did Cage make me feel so vulnerable...but in a way I loved? Ugh, hormones.

Pulling the quilt tighter around me, I accidentally kicked the back of Micheal's head and apologized by patting the top of his head and whispering a quiet sorry. I could see Cage watching the whole exchange from the corner of my eye. He wasn't focusing on the movie either, it seemed. My stomach fluttered with nerves. The couch suddenly seemed too small for the both of us.

You are the most annoying bi-

His exact words. I knew how the sentence was going to end and as much as I tried to convince myself that it didn't matter, it still hurt.

Cage was never outright cruel to me. I was grateful for his mercy. There were some parts of Cage that no words could do justice. No one would ever know Cage like I did. Even though he disliked me just as much, Cage did show me a part of himself that I knew was vulnerable and rare. Those fleeting smiles didn't not mean anything. But that doesn't mean they meant something, either. Perhaps I was looking too much into this.

The silence allowed me to go over the facts in the privacy of my own self, to evaluate all of our actions until it made my head ache.

Micheal suddenly laughed, bringing me out of my reverie. I looked up, surprised to see how much time had passed. We'd been sitting here for thirty minutes. On the television screen, Crush was telling Nemo and Dory something that I did not care to hear. I needed to leave. The tension was suffocating and I knew Cage felt it too because he was sitting as stiff and still as a rock for the past five minutes.

"I'll be right back." I whispered to Micheal and quickly stood up, dropping the blanket from around my shoulders. Heath and Nick didn't bother looking away from the screen, they were so into it. Cage was watching me but I didn't have the courage or the tolerance to meet his gaze.

"Where are you going?" Micheal asked in a hush. My tongue was too dry to form a response. Walking to the kitchen, I shut the door behind me and took a deep breath, trying to calm down my pounding heart. It was a few moments before I realized how stiff my legs were getting from just standing there.

My eyes latched onto an object on the far right, beside the big silver refrigerator.

It was boxy, white, and it made me almost squeal with excitement. It was a telephone. I never thought to look for one in the kitchen. Casting a worried glance at the door, I made a beeline for it. Relief shot through my heart. I could finally talk to Fern. What was I going to say? How do I even begin explaining what happened?

But my far-fetched hope crashed down around me when I held the phone up to my ear and heard deathly silence on the other end. Nothing. Not even a little beep or a sound. The phone was dead. Frustrated, I slammed the phone back into its holder. Of course there would be no reception. We were in the middle of the woods, for goodness sake. That's what I was beginning to believe until I saw the phone cord that snaked around the refrigerator cruelly cut in the middle.

What did I expect?

My high expectations led me down the path of disappointment once more. Tears itched the corners of my eyes but didn't spill. I was so desperate to see Fern. As fun as this kidnapping was, I needed to go back home to Ivey and her. She was my only family. Without Fern, I was all alone. Three days now. Three days since I left Ivey. It was three days too many. Cage couldn't keep me here forever.

I poured myself a glass of water and drank it slowly, hating how it stung my bottom lip because of the bruise Cage left when he bit me. I still couldn't get over that, you know. Everything reminded me of Cage. I couldn't get away, and not just in the physical sense either. What worried me was that a part of me liked it when it was the last thing I should be doing. A criminal was the last type of person I should be falling for.

I've never had a boyfriend, I've never been kissed, I've never done anything remotely sexual, and I've never been to a party that included alcohol and drugs. You must be thinking, geez, this chick has no life. And that much was true. After our parents died, Fern was old enough to be my legal guardian. She gave me a sheltered life, as sheltered as it could be in Ivey. Like I said, nothing very exciting happened in Ivey. Everyone knew everyone and it was the perfect little town of love and protection.

That is, until Cage Vickers stuck his pretty face in and ruined everything.

Okay, maybe I was being too harsh. Cage wasn't that bad, if you could look past the killing and the drugs and human gambling. There was no denying that this was pretty exciting, even though half of that was ruined with fear. He took me out of Ivey, involuntarily, but I didn't regret seeing Chicago sprawled beneath the windows and I didn't regret meeting Micheal. I also didn't regret kissing Cage-

No! I did! I did regret kissing Cage! What was I thinking? Of course I regretted that. Stupid stupid November. Better yet, we didn't even kiss. Whatever we did wasn't up to the standards of a proper kiss. Making out aggressively with my neck didn't count as kissing. Not fully on the lips, at least. What did Cage's lips taste like- no. That was dangerous territory.

Just as I put the glass back down on the marble counter, the kitchen door opened and shut back again as someone entered. It was Micheal. I didn't even have to turn around to tell. With my back to him, I forced the words to sound as normal as I could make it seem. "Micheal, I'm sorry. Just give me a minute, I need to-"

The words faltered when I finally turned around and realized it wasn't Micheal who was standing behind me, but in fact Cage. My heart instantly began to react to the look on his face. He didn't look angry. Just determined. His eyes were a light green and burned with emotions, more emotions than I had seen in him than ever before. Or maybe that was just an act, too. Master of manipulation, remember?

"This ends now, princess." Cage said quietly, not breaking the gaze. I couldn't move back, my legs were too jelly. The edge of the counter bit into my back as I pressed against it. He took a step towards me and upon instinct, I tried to retreat. Cage looked so dangerously beautiful, I didn't trust myself to respond in a calm way. The fluorescent light cast long shadows of his eyelashes on his cheeks. Cage licked his lips, reddening them even more. It caused a small twist of butterflies to bump around in the pit of my stomach.

"What does?" I could barely force the words from the tip of my tongue.

Cage didn't respond until he was right in front of me. "Us." The word was sharp and clear, meaning something very different to him than it did to me. He said it soft enough to add the edge of dominance. My eyes flickered to the door and then back to Cage.

"I don't know what you mean."

"I mean...." Cage tapped his fingers gently on my collarbone, dragging his words out tortuously slow. My heart thudded loud enough to resonate in my ears. "...that this will not continue. I need your submission, November, whether you give it to me willingly or not. You have more courage than any of my men and that...is unacceptable. I made you an offer, princess. Stay with me and I will give you the world."

I tried to focus on something other then the way his cold fingers traced shapes into my skin, but it was hard when he was so close and it was so addicting. "I don't want that, Cage."

"And I accept that for an answer, November." He said. "But I need you to understand something. I haven't killed you yet. That was a risk I took because you were too innocent to hurt. That will not last forever. All of your insults and mockery will get you into a world of trouble-" Cage bent his head, speaking softly into my ear, "-and I would love nothing more than to see you get what's due. Whether that's in a locked room or in my bed, you can decide. How loud can you scream my name, princess?"

His double-sided words had a profound effect. It pushed me over the edge. Yanking Cage down to my height, I smacked my lips right over his without giving it one more second of thinking.